Tomorrow the families of six murdered Red Caps will finally come face to face with under-fire defence supremo Geoff Hoon.

Seven months after they lost loved ones in one of the Iraq war's most barbaric episodes, they will demand answers from the Defence Secretary.

Among those attending the talks in London will be relatives of Corporals Simon Miller, 21, of Washington and Paul Long, 24, from South Shields.

Both men were on a routine patrol with four comrades from 156 Provost Company, which suddenly found itself stranded in a trouble spot on June 24.

Patrolling the streets of Majar al-Kabir near Basra, which had witnessed attacks on British troops in the previous 48 hours, the mood suddenly turned menacing.

Paras who enraged locals with a series of searches nearby were caught up in a fire fight and rescuers had to be sent to help them.

As the mood grew increasingly angry, the six military policemen came under fire - but no-one came to help.

Their subsequent slaughter at the hands of a hate-filled mob in a disused police station horrified the world.

Cpl Long, married to wife Gemma and with a young son, was on his first operational deployment when he was cornered and shot alongside former Usworth Secondary School pupil Cpl Miller. Just weeks earlier, both lads had been involved in distributing aid.

On the eve of their meeting with Mr Hoon, their families have told the Chronicle of the questions they need answering to find out why their sons died.

Why has no one been arrested over the killings?

Byron Long, 20, of Bamford Walk, South Shields, is the brother of Cpl Long. He said: "As far as we know, no-one has been arrested but we are hoping they will be. The thing is that this is being dealt with under Iraqi law, but over there they have the death penalty.

"It is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I would rather have them rot in jail for the rest of their lives."

Cpl Miller's father, John Miller, 52, an accounts manager, of Muirfield Drive, Washington, added: "We do want to know who they are, but we haven't heard anything."

Why did they have so little ammunition?

John: "They were all issued with 52 rounds - two magazines.

Byron: "This was a peace-time mission, so they weren't required to have the standard amount of ammunition, like during wartime. As far as anyone was concerned, the fighting was over and Paul was coming home. This shouldn't have happened.

"The likelihood was so small that I can understand why they didn't have the full complement of weapons. The question is, why did it happen in peace?"

Why were they left on their own on patrol?

John: "A six-man RMP (Royal Military Policemen) patrol is normal under circumstances in which the areas are secure. The question is, why send them out in an area so volatile 48 hours prior, and which we are told was quiet and stable the day before?"

Byron: "All they were there for was to visit the local police station, no other reason. They were there as policemen, not soldiers."

Why did it take so long for help to come?

Byron: "We have discussed this with the other families and it is something that we have not yet had a definite answer to."

John: "There is no evidence to say that they radioed for help, so I don't know about that. We will be asking what the sequence of events was."

Why were they left so exposed?

Byron: "This is not something that was expected to happen.

"As far as anyone is concerned they were not exposed, but the situation should not have occurred."

They were on peace-keeping mission, so why did this happen?

Byron: "This is the main thing that we want to know, and this is why I am angry. I can understand why they had fewer weapons, because it was supposed to be peace, so what happened?"

John: "That is a question to ask the killers."

Was there a misunderstanding over weapons searches, and confusion over plastic rounds?

John: "This was nothing to do with the RMP; it is not the function of the RMP to carry out weapons searches. They were there to train Iraqi police and organise refurbishment of a number of stations in the control area."

Byron: "Plastic rounds were used but not by my brother or any of the other lads in the patrol."

Why are investigations taking so long?

Byron: "It is now months later and there are still lots of investigations taking place and things we don't know. One of the major problems was that 24 hours after the shooting, the room was set on fire and so that hindered the forensic side.

"It is all down to the townspeople and that has prolonged the investigations."

John: "Because of the volatility of the area and the fact that there are no witnesses other than Iraqi ones, everyone tells of a different story.

"Locals are too frightened to talk for fear of reprisals - which is what the RMP were trying to eradicate."

Why will they not receive medals?

John: "This is what we want to know and we will certainly be asking that question."

Byron: "The families are disgusted that they will not receive medals and my mum has been really upset over it.

"This is the thing that makes us the most angry as this is not just a family thing, they are the nation's sons. Let's not let their lives be wasted."